KOI CLUB OF SAN DIEGONEWSLETTERMay 2026 |
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BRAND NEW UV BULBS FOR SALE
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Aqua Ultraviolet SL200 Replacement UV Lamp. Size - 47 1/4 inch. Lamp Wattage - 200W. For use with: SL Series UV Sterilizer. Brand - Aqua Ultra Violet.
Looking to sell 6 brand new, never used A20200 pond bulbs for $350/bulb or best offer. We have changed systems and no longer need these bulbs. Contact - Frances Splinter 2397707553
Pick up at: 5005 Rancho Verde Trail, San Diego, CA 92130
Email -francessplinter@gmail.com
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Koi Club of San Diego Meeting
DATE CHANGE DUE TO MOTHER'S DAYMay 17th, 2026
Social hour - 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
Meeting begins at 1 pm
Potluck, bring your own chair
OUR HOSTS WILL BE
Pat and Lorelei Kelly
28342 Shady Knoll Rd
Valley Center, CA 92082
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STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING
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Wednesday, May 13th at 7:00 pm (earlier if you are ordering food) ALL MEMBERS ARE WELCOME!
Dennys
2691 Navajo Road El Cajon, CA 92020
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From the President's Pond
I’m always reminded that our greatest strength lies not just in our shared passion for koi, but in the spaces and moments that bring us together. Our April meeting at Thom and Lynne’s was a perfect example of that spirit in action.
We had the pleasure of gathering at a truly special property this month—one that felt like a hidden retreat. A hidden highlight, that you had to brave the stairs to see, was the stunning lake view that stretched into the distance, creating a calm and reflective backdrop for the day. Members that didn’t make the hike, were equally captivated by a massive koi pond with a fantastic bridge. It was the kind of pond that sparks ideas, admiration, and just a little bit of envy among hobbyists.
Thank you to Matt and his live koi identification presentation. It was helpful to see koi up close while learning how to distinguish varieties, patterns, and quality markers. He was able to explain some of the subtle differences in an engaging, accessible way.
As if on cue, a light rain drifted in during the afternoon—just a few minutes after the meeting ended. So my guess is most members got to enjoy that from inside their cars.
I, however, was up at the house looking at the view. Awesome feeling.
All in all, our April meeting was a beautiful blend of learning, connection, and appreciation for the environments we create for our koi. Thank you to our gracious hosts, Thom and Lynne, to Matt for sharing his expertise, and to everyone who attended and contributed to another memorable gathering. I’m already looking forward to what next month will bring.
Until next time, keep your ponds clear, your koi happy, and your butt in a chair enjoying both! Warm regards,
Cory Burke
President, Koi Club of San Diego |
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Koi Club of San Diego Ponder Profile
by Lenore Wade, photography by Pat Kelly and Bill Newell
Pat and Lorelei Kelly |
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This will be an unusual meeting at the Kelly’s home, much different from our meeting there last June. We will get to see all the many beautiful birds I have been told are currently sitting on eggs in their nests. The unusual feathers are fun to pick up and at my Ponder Profile visit I collected a small variety myself. When we visit, |
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I’m sure the chickens will scream at us but there will be no fish in the unique pond to see. A few weeks ago, the pond was infected with the KHV virus and over a short period of time all the fish were lost. This includes some beauties from our San Diego Koi Show in March. Through valiant efforts, Pat tried everything to save his fish. The meeting will be new for any of us who have escaped the sadness of losing a koi-filled pond. We, hopefully, will learn some precautions and some early warning signs. |
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We are very grateful to Pat and Lorelei for being willing to share their story with us.
Below is the article that we used last year so you can refresh your memories if you were lucky enough to see it all last time. If this is your first visit, be prepared to enjoy all the creative and unique ways around the property. |
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Pat retired about 18 months ago from a career as a service manager with Toyota of Escondido, so he has lists of wants and projects he will enjoy pursuing. He takes great pride in the pond he built with the help of one of his boys. It is a ground level, kidney-shaped pond, which holds 10,000 gallons and has a waterfall. They have had ponds before, but without koi. He enjoys water features and landscaping.
Originally from Brooklyn (not a Dodger fan!), he has lived in the county for about 50 years. Lorelei, his wife of 40 years, is a transplant from Oregon. Together they have 4 grown children.
They have been club members for about 2 ½ years and their first meeting was a year ago April at Dean Strasser’s home. They look forward to seeing all of you at their home in Valley Center on May 17th.
Please remember to bring your comfortable chair and a dish to share!
Also, I always need donations for the “table”. Right now, I have nothing!!!
Thanks, and see you there! Lenore |
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APRIL MEETING PHOTOS
Thom and Lynne Fuller
by Bill Newell
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
Terry Shaw and Betty Hom
WELCOME BACK RENEWING MEMBERS!
Michael Brooks & Dan Gilbreath
Mark and Pam Jenkins
Jeff Kane
John Svelan
Scotty & Erica Yee
Sharon Zelin
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KHA KORNER
by "Koi Jack" Chapman |
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As a pond owner and koi hobbyist you have some growth and color decisions to consider especially come spring time. The general knowledge towards these decisions comes from time and experience as a hobbyist and more importantly some self-education and/or exposure to the principles in play on the subject of growth/color. What do you want your koi to do within the confines of your pond system? I’m going to have to stay with generalities as I introduce you to some points for consideration and while all this stuff has been seen in print or video not all agree with some of the finer points – that’s my disclaimer LOL but I believe in what I’m about to pass along in this article.
In the beginning most backyard koi hobbyists want pretty and healthy koi that get bigger with time and are friendly and that can be your continuing goal even after reading this article.
Then all sorts of things start to happen over time and for this subject they may include things like: my koi don’t look as nice as they use to; the loss of color; gotten a lot darker; the white is changing (usually not as nice); have a lot of new little spots (mostly black); not grown much; gotten too big for my pond; are skinny or even fat – so what am I doing wrong?
Well we need to become a little more familiar in three areas - while asking yourself what do you want your koi to do? They are the individual koi purchase, your pond and water quality and finally nutrition.
The koi is a very important part of the puzzle. The more you know the more you can expect certain results. Pick a number say $10/$100/$1000 but on your low end you may not need a host of info to get what you want/expect from the koi. However, with more expensive koi, especially if thinking a show koi - well you need to know a lot more in my opinion – breeder, bloodline, past results of offspring that are now older, etc. This is considered the genetic profile. Folks, there are books covering just this subject and make for some interesting reading. So, we now have for your consideration - What are the wants/expectations in visible terms for a successful Return on Investment. (ROI)? Yes, how long do you want/expect to keep your koi, how big do you want/expect it to get, when do you want or expect it to look its best/what do you want to do with the koi once your ROI has been accomplished???? So, you say you have never considered these things – well now may be the time to give it some consideration and what are the things I can do to assist my now established ROI as we move on to the next two important areas.
Water quality is a major area and is not without its direct effects on both growth and color in meeting your expectations established at time of koi purchase. In general, soft water is advantageous to the development of hi (red color) and lengthens the time for complete color development while hard water is said to advance sumi (black color) and be to some degree responsible for small black spots (shimis) on your koi and generally reduce the time for finished color development. Koi suffering from stress from a host of water quality issues to include long term minor issues are said to suffer both in growth and color. Studies of higher levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) have demonstrated to reduce growth potential as has oxygen below saturation levels. Japanese koi breeders have expressed that higher oxygen levels increase koi activity leading to increased food requirements and associated increased growth. The oxidation/reduction potential (ORP) in the higher readings are thought to be too oxidative and present a (possible) negative effect on koi pigment cells. This has to do with hydrogen ions – requires a meter to read and a subject for its own article. Finally, studies from the UK have reported higher koi grow rates in soft water conditions. So, water conditions should be taken into consideration and maybe modify some of your answers or even koi purchases to the questions presented earlier. Don’t forget your fish load (number and mass of your koi) as it also can affect stress levels of the overall population.
So that leaves us with nutrition, for which there are again books on just this subject, but in general how you have answered the earlier questions should assist you with your feeding plan. Nutrition is obviously directly related to both growth and color but it has been said that when a koi is getting pounded with growth feed components it cannot keep up with color at the same time and that color has to catch up later and sometimes falls short of goal. Your koi goals are of significant importance especially your answer to when you want your koi during their life span to be their best and what you initially purchased. Males are said to finish sooner than females and if your koi purchases are already farther along with color development (very common) then they are going to finish sooner and they may need to be moved along to our club annual auction after just 4 to 6 years. It’s been said many a time that no baby champion has ever been a later grand champion. But you decide when your ROI has been accomplished and time to move a koi along. A lot of backyard koi ponds are not large ponds and while koi will still under the right conditions grow large in small ponds it may be desirable to keep growth below the koi’s potential and nutrition is a way to do this to some degree. Yes, you need to establish in spring a good estimate of pond total koi mass (weight) and for okay survival feed 1% of total weight; for limited growth and maintain color feed 2% of total weight and for maximum growth and color 3% of total weight. I don’t want to complicate this but the aforementioned feeding schedule is for adult koi (say 4/5 years old) and for young koi you can double the percentages. When the daily feed amount is divided into several feedings per day growth rates are said to improve. Unfortunately, when you have koi of all sizes in your pond the little ones may not get their fair share of the feed as the big koi quickly scoop up surface food. I think I’ve observed less of a problem with this when I do my twice a day sinking food feedings.
So, with a koi ROI plan coupled with an increased attention to koi knowledge, water quality and nutrition your level of hobby satisfaction will be increased and keep you involved in the hobby while sharing your gained knowledge with fellow club members.
While growth and color are an impossible subject to cover in this basic introductory article, I hope I’ve tweaked your interest to further explore the subjects and give some consideration to the info as it affects your next beautiful koi purchase and that it exceeds your established ROI. r/koi jack |
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PLEASE VISIT OUR APPAREL SHOP!THANK YOU JAMIE KANES FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL DESIGNS! |
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Koi Person of The Year 2026 Cory Burke
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Newsletter editor/ Webmaster: Julia Schriber |
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Membership Chairman: Jill Leach |
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Koi Health Advisor/
Librarian: Jack Chapman |
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Club Historian: Dr. Galen Hansen |
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Correspondence Secretary: Shirley Elswick |
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Japanese Friendship Garden Liaison: Linda Pluth |
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Koi Health Advisor/
Water Quality: Jack Chapman |
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To Host a Meeting: Tony Martinez |
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To Submit an Article: Linda Pluth |
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Program/Activities Suggestions: Matt Rhoades |
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